[[quoteright:125:Note to Tropers -- The list item text and order should not be changed. Adding links to tropes should be fine, as long as they don't change the displayed text.]]----'''Section I: Overused Plots and Storylines'''

# [[AfterTheEnd Post-cataclysmic]] [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits rag-tag armies]] struggle to kick the [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp Rooskies]] out of the good ol' [[{{Eagleland}} US of A]].# [[AfterTheEnd Post-cataclysmic]] [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits rag-tag armies]] struggle to survive against gangs of bandits, {{mutants}}, [[HollywoodCyborg cyberpunks]], [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels bikers]], etc.# The rag-tag [[LaResistance rebel army/fleet]] struggles valiantly to overthrow [[TheEmpire the Evil Empire]].# The Good Guys [[TimeTravel travel through time]] to stop a historical Bad Guy, usually [[HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct Hitler]].# The Bad Guy [[TimeTravel travels through time]] to kill the Hero in his childhood, or to [[RetGone prevent him from ever being born]].# [[TimePolice The Chronocops]] [[TimeTravel travel in time]] to catch a Bad Guy who escaped into some other era.# Scientists work feverishly to [[FindTheCure develop a cure]] for the Supervirus or [[ForgottenSuperweapon a weapon]] to stop the [[TheJuggernaut Invincible Bad Guys]].# An alien:## Is [[TrappedInAnotherWorld stranded on Earth]];## [[MoralityPet Befriends a human child]] or [[MarsNeedsWomen falls in love with an Earth gal]];## [[WeComeInPeaceShootToKill Is pursued by shadowy malevolent Pentagon officials under the pretense of national security]];## Uses his/her/its [[BizarreAlienBiology alien powers]] to defeat the shadowy malevolent Pentagon officials, making them look foolish without really harming them;## [[ButNowIMustGo Makes teary farewell and returns to its home planet]].# A virtual reality program is activated, and [[YourMindMakesItReal the distinction between reality and the program becomes confused or indistinguishable]].# People [[NeuralImplanting connect their brains directly to computers]] and get dependent on them.# [[PlanetLooters Aliens travel a zillion miles to loot the Earth of resources which exist in far greater and much more easily exploitable quantities on the many uninhabited bodies they pass on the way to Earth]].# [[InstantAIJustAddWater A complex computer system spontaneously becomes self-aware]].# [[PopulationControl A couple files an application to the government for permission to conceive a baby.]]# A human [[ReplacementGoldfish falls in love with a robot]].# [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove A robot falls in love with a human]].# [[AlienAbduction UFO abductions]].# [[PuppeteerParasite Brain-controlling parasites attempt to wrest control of human race]].# [[HumanityOnTrial Aliens put someone on trial for the sins of humanity]].# [[AmusementParkOfDoom A high-tech amusement park goes lethally berserk]].# Death from old age turns out to be due to some [[YouFailBiologyForever simple, single cause]], leading to an easy [[TheAgeless immortality]] treatment, with [[{{Aesoptinum}} consequent catastrophic social implications]].# [[EgomaniacHunter A great hunter]] decides that [[HumansAreInteresting humans are the most entertaining prey of all]], and visits Earth to [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame bag a few]].# [[MushroomSamba Psychedelic drugs]] give somebody [[RealityWarper magical power over space, time and reality]].# [[StarfishAliens Aliens with completely incomprehensible motivations]] [[AlienInvasion make war on the human race/invade Earth.]]# [[ObstructiveBureaucrat The bureaucratic/reactionary mindset]] stands in the way of scientific progress. A (young, maverick) researcher overcomes it through ability, purity of heart, and use of the scientific method. [[HollywoodScience Or not]].# Two hostile factions colonize a planet [[ItsASmallWorldAfterAll within walking distance of each other.]]# The government [[PenalColony ships criminals off to other planets]].# [[MisterSeahorse A human male becomes pregnant]].# [[AIIsACrapshoot An android discovers emotions and loses control]].# A young researcher:## Gets a job at a [[MegaCorp Mega-huge Corporation]] or [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction Ultra-secret Government Agency]];## Learns that the employer's latest discovery has a Nasty Side Effect or involves some obvious human rights abuses;## Confronts the employer, who [[TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong casually dismisses the researcher's concerns and chides her/him for not being a "team player"]];## [[IgnoredExpert Tries to blow the whistle to avert disaster]];## Gets hounded by [[TheMenInBlack Shadowy Malevolent Goons]];## Attempts to meet with inside sources, and finds them either dead or with [[AlmostDeadGuy just enough life left to utter a cryptic clue]];## Watches the disaster overtake the CEO;## Testifies before Congress, or whatever the equivalent government body is;## Enters the Witness Protection Program; ::in roughly the order given above.[numlist:30]# Aliens invade Earth in order [[ToServeMan to eat humans]].# [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters An AI turns on its creators]].# [[HumanPopsicle A person from the past goes into suspended animation and wakes up in modern times]], or a person from modern times [[ColdSleepColdFuture goes into suspended animation and wakes up in the future]].# A person [[TimeTravel travels back in time]] to meet a major historical personage and [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy winds up either becoming that person or taking that person's place at a critical juncture]].# [[RightfulKingReturns The rightful monarch or long-lost heir is restored to the throne]].# [[{{Gendercide}} A sexually selective plague kills off or sterilizes almost all of the men, or almost all of the women]].# [[TomatoSurprise A human discovers that the human race is being controlled by aliens]].# The AlienInvasion that [[HowToInvadeAnAlienPlanet flounders]] because their technological advantage is [[InsufficientlyAdvancedAlien perfectly]] [[RockBeatsLaser neutralized]] by their lack of resources, compared to the humans.# Earth is [[ColonyDrop threatened by an asteroid]], and a space mission is mounted to save the planet.# Humans are seen as a menace to galactic society, having [[HumansAreSpecial developed technology over a few short centuries compared with the thousands it took the other races.]]# [[CulturePolice The government bans music, painting, dancing, or some other art form]]; only the hero seems to care enough to do anything about it.# [[ScienceIsBad A technological innovation prompts a large portion of society to violently suppress it]].# [[InterspeciesRomance "Single female monster ISO single human male. Object: Mating."]]# [[DeusEstMachina An entire society is run by a computer]]. [[AIIsACrapshoot Maybe]] it [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters goes berserk]].# An alien being is sent to Earth on a mission of assassination or genocide; it [[HeelFaceTurn changes its mind]] after [[BecomingTheMask getting to know]] (and perhaps [[MarsNeedsWomen falling in love with]]) one or more humans.# The crew's [[LaserGuidedAmnesia memories are wiped]]. As they recover, they discover that they are [[UnwittingPawn Unwitting Pawns]], helping the guy who did it to them.# A man escapes a VR simulation, and later discovers that he has escaped [[SchrodingersButterfly into another VR simulation]].# An alien that is [[HumanAliens substantially like us]] [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove doesn't understand love]], and visits humans in order to learn. The lesson is completed after the alien gets a Dose of Good Luvin'.# A Bad Guy [[DistressedDude captures the Hero]], and [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim instead of killing him]], attempts to [[{{Brainwashed}} brainwash]] him into thinking that [[CuckooNest his powers aren't real]].[/numlist]----